Grammy-winning disco diva Gloria Gaynor and 1980s pop princess Sheila E. were the latest artists to appear on Capitol Hill on behalf of the Performance Rights Act, which would require radio stations to compensate the artists and musicians whose songs they play.
“We believe that being paid for one’s work is a basic American right,” said Sheila E., who’s been nominated for multiple Grammys.
Marian Leighton Levy, co-founder of Rounder Records, discussed this year’s multiple-Grammy winners Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
The duo’s album, “Raising Sand,” she said, “won a Grammy for Album of the Year while receiving almost NO commercial radio play. Since Robert Plant is a U.K. native, he will be eligible to receive payment for his work on the recording when it is played around the world, but Alison will not be paid because she is a U.S. native.”
Also in attendance Tuesday, on the receiving end of the testimony: Grammy winner Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. The former comedian won Grammys for his spoken word albums “Lies and The Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right” and “Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot.”
Gloria Gaynor and Sen. Al Franken (photo: Brendan Hoffman)
